Noble Rose
Fujiko Hinomoto (aka “Noble Rose”) is a playable character in both the original Rumble Roses in 2004 and sequel Rumble Roses XX in 2006. She fights under the moniker of "The Thorn of Justice". Her Japanese voice actress is Aki Sasaki. Her Japanese voice actress is Mitsuki Saiga. She was dubbed by Xanthe Smith in the first game, with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn voicing her in the sequel.Rumble Roses Manual. Konami, 2004.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435341/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0952679 In the first game, Noble Rose can be unlocked after completing Evil Rose' storymode, or through the Vow System. In the second game, she's unlocked after Reiko successfully defeats Evil Rose in ten consecutive 1-on-1 matches. Prologue "I'm the voice of justice. The shadow of the wrestlers consumed by your darkness. ...In due time, monster, we will meet." '- ??? (to Anesthesia, during her Epilogue)'http://faqs.ign.com/articles/845/845509p1.html In the first game, Noble Rose's arrival is foreshadowed in not just Evil Rose's epilogue, but also in Anesthesia's epilogue as well. Unlike most of the other fighters, her eventual change is depicted as less of a "turn" and more a continuation of Fujiko Hinomoto story-arc. When Evil Rose has won the tournament at the end of her storyline, she discards her mask- a symbolic gesture showing that she is no longer under the control of the Corperation. When Anesthesia wins the tournament in her storyline, the twisted woman's victory is quickly cut short when a mysterious voice (presumed to be Rose) leaves the nurse with a warning and a promice of retribution... However, as the sequel is partially a reboot of the series, the Evil Rose persona is once again present. And the lack of real storylines in the game removes much of the complexity associated with the character in the original game. This time, Reiko is very much aware that the masked fighter is her sister. It's ultimately Reiko's intervention (instead of a conscious desision on Rose's part) that finally released Fujiko from the control of Anesthesia and 'the Corperation', and her eventual transformation... Background "My name is Noble Rose. I am the red rose that has burst free from the ashes of wrestlers who were scorched on their path to greatness. My past is gone. I'm a lone rose blooming in hell. If I must die a glorious death to stamp out evil. That is my fate. The day has come, Dr. Cutter. The thorns of justice are in your side!" '-Noble Rose (during her Prologue)'http://faqs.ign.com/articles/845/845509p1.html When Fujiko (as Evil Rose) finally breaks free of Anesthesia's control and turns on her, she vows to make the woman pay for everything that she's done. Not just to Fujiko herself and her mother, but all the other victims of the twisted woman and the Rumble Rose Organization. When Reiko asks her to go back home to Japan with her, she initially denies being her elder sister, but eventually replies "...she'll be back. And she'll commit more crimes against humanity. I must find her first, and strangle her with my own two hands!"''http://faqs.ign.com/articles/845/845509p1.html To this end, she cannot return to her old life as Fujiko Hinomoto. As long as Dr. Cutter is still at large and continuing her twisted experiments, she can never go back. Similar to how Benikage "transformed" into Yasha, Fujiko reinvents herself as "Noble Rose". In another parallel to Yasha, Noble Rose's personal crusade drives her to become an avenging figure. At the end the the first game, after she's defeated the cyborg Lady X, Cutter again manages to get away. However, Noble rose makes a final pledge: ''"Dr. Cutter, you can run, but you can't hide. The hunt has begun. Live in fear... Your day will come."''http://faqs.ign.com/articles/845/845509p1.html Personality After spending years as Anesthesia's puppet, the woman once known as Fujiko Hinomoto is finally able to break free from her control... Thanks in no small part to the arrival and intervention of her younger sister, Reiko, during the Roses Tournament. For various reason, Noble Rose is quick to dispute any connection to her former self (including her relationship to Reiko)- going so far as to say that she (as Evil Rose) had "killed" Fujiko Hinomoto. In truth, it's more likely that she has chosen to distance herself from Reiko in an effort to keep her out of danger- fearing that she might fall into the hands of her enemies. This concern stems from the fact that Anesthesia more than likeely was/is targetting Reiko (observing her during her various matches) to use her a test subject. This threat to her younger sibling proved to be a strong enough motivation for Fujiko/Evil Rose that she was able to start resisting her conditioning (on multiple occasions)- intervening in matches to prevent the nurse from capturing her sister. Realizing the extent of the danger involved, Noble Rose seems to have resigned herself to the possibility of dieing for her cause (ie. taking down Dr. Cutter and her corporate masters'' at all cost). However, she is not willing to risk her sister's life to achieve theis. And so she remains adamant that Reiko return to Japan in order to carry on the teachings and traditions passed down to the two of them by their mother, the late Kamikaze Rose. However, by the second game, she seems to have come to terms with Reiko's decision to remain in America and continue fighting in the Rumble Roses tournament. Later on, she even forms a Tag-Team with her called "The Kamikaze Typhoon" to compete for the Champions' Title in newly formed Tag-Team Division. Regardless of her origins, Noble Rose emerges as a force for justice- not unlike a "Super Hero". She is intent on bringing down both Dr. Cutter and the Organization that wronged her and so many others. Because of this, her strong moral alignments leads her to attempt to enlist the help Yasha- another former victim and pawn of of their mutual enemies. Her morality is reflected in her personality as well. In her interview, she says her favorite words are "Justice. Love. And divine retribution." Rose also makes numerous references to Cutter, even citing her as the person that she'd "most like to meet" and declaring she will "pursue her to the ends of the Earth."''http://faqs.ign.com/articles/845/845509p1.html Appearance The recently freed Fujiko Hinomoto, now fighting under the in-ring alias of "Noble Rose", is a tall fair-skinned woman looking to be in her mid-to-late twenties. She has layered shoulder-length lavender hair- parted on the right and combed the side in long waves in the front. She has dark eyebrows and light brown (or hazel) eyes. She also wears light pink lipstick and dark eye-shadow. Her regular in-ring costume is a tight fitting black and white body suit that appears to made from a very glossy material such as laytex. She has a black collar (with white ruffles in the front) around her neck, similar to a choker. Black straps come down, under her arms, on either side of her breasts. The upper portion of the suit is white, with pink ruffles along he bottom edges, and somewhat resembles a corset- complete with visible lacing over the opening in the front. The triangular 'cups' cover enough of her breasts to maintain a degree of modesty, while also still keeping the small Demonic Tattoo on her inner left breast visible. The lower half of her costume is comprised of a shiny black material (again, similar to latex) that's so tight that her naval is visible underneath. The words ''"Rose of Roses" is written in white along her inner right thigh. She wears long white boots that stop above her knees, with pink ruffles along the top edges, bright red lacing in the front, and shiny black stiletto-heels and soles. She wears similar white slips over her arms that stop about an inch below her shoulders and just past her wrists. The tops are adorned with pink ruffles and the same bright red laces run along the outward-face side of the arm slips. In the second game, during her standard introductions, she arrives carrying an unusual sword with a long narrow blade. Once Noble Rose has won enough matches and becomes popular enough to unlock her Super Star Mode (at least 80% popularity), she gains a flashy new outfit along with it to wear in the ring. The look of the outfit has a distinct military motif, with bright colors and flashy adornments. Noble Rose wears a deep red choker with gold edging (resembling a uniform collar), and an oval aquamarine stone fixed to the front of it. Gold "passants" (straps) lead from the choker to gold "epaulettes" over her shoulders.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaulette She wears a deep red top, with gold piping along the edges and white ruffles lining the bottom- similar to the look of an early British Imperial military jacket from the 18th or 19th century. The top comes up just ''high enough to cover her breasts, but splits wide in the middle to show off her cleavage. A white and pale blue/green rose is fixed to the left side, similar to a corsage. Amusingly, this top appears to be even more impractical than any of her previous costumes (even counting her Evil Rose costumes), as there appears to be no functional bits to hold the various part of it in place. She wears a pair of form-fitting pristine white breaches, tucked into a dark gray/purple over-the-knee heeled boots- similar to riding boots worn by cavalry officers in the 17th and 18th centuries.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-knee_boot#As_men.E2.80.99s_footwearThe boots appear to be made of leather and have a thorned vine design encircling the length of them- down to the ankles. She also wears shiny white elbow-length gloves, with what look to be red and silver bands around the wrists. This time around, during her introduction, she arrives in the stadium wielding what looks like a classic European-style rapier, complete with a brass handle and narrow hand guard.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapier#French Like the other fighters, Noble Rose also has swimwear worn specially for the beach-related matches- the Mad Mud Match'' in the first game and the[[ Queen's Match| Queen's Match]] in the second game. Her swimsuit changed between the two games, though both reflect her penchant for wearing flashy and impractical clothing to matches. In the original Rumble Roses, she wears a two-piece swimsuit: with the bikini-style top is comprised of overlapping black and reddish-orange segments, with a third, cream-colored segment over them. The different colored segments are fixed together, making the top a continuous piece with no joins, held in place with straps looping behind her neck and across her back. The bikini bottom is similarly designed, comprised of overlapping black and reddish-orange segments (forming high straps over the hips), again with no joins. In the second game, Rumble Roses XX, she wears a provocative one-piece swimsuit. It's made of a shiny material (with the default color being bright silver), with a plunging v-line gap in the front to show off her cleavage. The lower half comes around the back, above the hips, and exposes her entire back. While the two sides of the top half of the swimsuit is held in place with lace- tied behind the back of her neck. Noble Rose also wears a pair of sandals to the matches. Inspirations The portrayal of Nobel Rose as a buxom female champion of justice, fighting evil and righting wrongs, while clad in a skimpy skin-tight outfit is hardly a new concept... In fact, the likeness between Noble Rose and manga artist/writer Go Nagai's long running'' Cutey Honey'' character are more than likely intentional by design- with Rose' brightly colored hair and flashy outfit. Even Rose's colorful and larger than life presentation is very much in keeping with the Japanese super heroes in the later half of the Showa-Era (namely the 1970s).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutey_Honeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showa_era Many aspects of the Noble Rose persona appear heavily based on the various incarnations of the Cutey Honey character: from her buxom appearance, to her flashy intros, and even the fact that she wields a sword. Since 1973, the character has starred in numerous comics series, multiple animated tv series and specials, and was even udated in the 2000s for a live-action theatrical film. So it's not surprising that the designers would chose to model her on such a prolific and popular character. Fighting Style Noble Rose brings the raw strength and agility of her former incarnation, though without the animal ferocity. Noble Rose can both perform powerful throws and high-flying moves, giving her a wide arsenal of skills. She has above average grappling and striking abilities, but both are limited by the range/reach of her attacks. While training with her sister, she learns the skills and concepts of martial arts and wrestling at a young age. While she's remains an agile fighter, she is arguably the slowest. Her limited range means she has to go to her opponents to land a hit. This, combined with her slow speed, makes her "clumsy" when performing lunging attacks. However, her grappling skills make her good at reversing (and building the other fighter's H-Gauge). Despite her size and stature, she's not built to withstand damage, and is weak against the heavy-hitters, like Dixie or Aisha. Her limitations make her vulnerable in Street Fights, and she's best suited to Singles and PH Matches. Killer Move *'Crimson Harley:' A power throw that utilizes Noble Roses's strength as a wrestler. She first grabs her opponent’s right wrist with her left hand, and then hooks her right arm with their right arm. Noble Rose steps underneath her opponent’s arm, moves around behind them and grabs their left wrist with her left hand, while sticking her head under her opponent’s left arm. She then lifts her opponent up on her shoulder so that they are parallel to the ring. Finally, Noble Rose arches her back to drive her opponent’s head to the mat. Her opponent stands on their head for a few moments before falling on their stomach. **This move can only be executed by have at least 1 meter filled. **With that being said, this move can be done anywhere, as long as Noble Rose's opponent is on their feet. Lethal Move(s) *'Noble Phantasm:' An aerial technique that utilizes Noble Rose's high-flying ability. Noble Rose leaps off the turnbuckle, performs a corkscrew moonsault. But instead of landing on the opponent in a splash position, she continues the rotation to drive her leg across her opponent’s neck. **Only Noble Rose can perform this move. **This move can only be executed by have at least 1 meter filled. **In addition, Noble Rose must be on the turnbuckle, with their opponent lying on their back. *'Extreme Phantasm:' An aerial technique that utilizes Noble Rose's high-flying ability. Noble Rose first jumps and makes a 180° turn. She then leaps high off the turnbuckle and performs a moonsault. As she falls, Noble Rose corkscrews in midair until she lands back first across her opponent’s stomach. **Only Super Star Noble Rose can perform this move. **This move can only be executed by have at least 1 meter filled. **In addition, Noble Rose must be on the turnbuckle, with their opponent lying on their back. Humiliation Move *'Tombstone Hold:' A hold that utilizes Noble Rose’s submission abilities. She places one arm between her opponent's legs and the other arm on the opposite shoulder. Noble Rose lifts her opponent onto her shoulder into a reverse piledriver position. From there, she presses down on her opponent’s knees towards the mat, stretching their inner thighs and humiliating them into submission. **Like all Humiliation moves, the opponent must have their Humiliation Meter at full to execute this move.. **This move can only be executed by have at least 1 meter filled. **With that being said, this move can be done anywhere, as long as her opponent is on their feet. Entrance Trivia *From a narrative perspective, Noble Rose's arrival is very well set up. Her debut in the game is foreshadowed in both Anesthesia and Evil Rose's epilogues.http://faqs.ign.com/articles/845/845509p1.html *Noble Rose's theme The Thorn of Justice was composed in-house by Michiru Yamane (of Konami TYO) and arranged by Noboru Iwata & Hiroyuki Kohyu.Rumble Roses Manual. Konami, 2006. The three had also worked together on Yasha's theme. *Unlike with Benikage and Candy Cane, Evil Rose was the only Heel (from the start) that is under the control of Anesthesia and the Corporation. Because of this, Noble Rose is the only Babyface in the series who bares the Demonic Tattoo. References Category:Babyfaces Category:Characters